糖心原创

Faculty of Engineering
 

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Jonathan Hale

Emeritus Professor of Architectural Theory, Faculty of Engineering

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Expertise Summary

Prof Jonathan Hale is an architect and was Professor of Architectural Theory in the Department of Architecture and Built Environment until September 2025. He was Head of the (ACT) and Convenor for Architectural Humanities II, and Design, Culture & Context modules. Research interests include: architectural theory and criticism; phenomenology and the philosophy of technology; the relationship between architecture and the body; museums and architectural exhibitions. He has published books, chapters, refereed articles and conference papers in these areas and has obtained grants from the EPSRC, the Leverhulme Trust, British Academy, and the Arts Council. He is founder and current steering group member of the international subject network: Architectural Humanities Research Association (); a member of the interdisciplinary research group, hosted by the Dept of French.

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Research Summary

Keywords: Architectural theory and criticism; Philosophies of technology, materiality and perception; Phenomenology; The relationship between architecture and the body; Narrative design and digital… read more

Selected Publications

  • HALE, J., 2014. Cognitive tectonics: from the prehuman to the posthuman. In: BEIM, A. and STYLSVIG MADSEN, U., eds., Towards an Ecology of Tectonics: The Need for Rethinking Construction in Architecture Edition Axel Menges.
  • HALE, J., 2012. Narrative environments and the paradigm of embodiment. In: MACLEOD, S., HOURSTON HANKS, L. and HALE, J., eds., Museum making: narratives, architectures, exhibitions Routledge. 192-200
  • MACLEOD, S., HOURSTON HANKS, L. and HALE, J., eds., 2012. Museum Making: Narratives, Architectures, Exhibitions 1st. Routledge.
  • HALE, J., 2012. Architecture, technology and the body: from the prehuman to the posthuman. In: CRYSLER, C.G., CAIRNS, S. and HEYNEN, H., eds., The Sage handbook of architectural theory Sage. 513-526

Current Research

Keywords: Architectural theory and criticism; Philosophies of technology, materiality and perception; Phenomenology; The relationship between architecture and the body; Narrative design and digital media in museums and architectural exhibitions.

Recent publication projects include: Housing and the City, co-edited with Katharina Borsi, Didem Ekici and Nick Haynes (Routledge 2022); The Future of Museum and Gallery Design, co-edited with Suzanne MacLeod, Tricia Austin and Oscar Ho (Routledge 2018), and a book for the Routledge series Thinkers for Architects on the philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty published in 2017; a co-edited book (with Dr Laura Hanks and Suzanne Macleod of the University of Leicester) entitled Museum Making: Narratives, Architectures, Exhibitions. (Routledge 2012); : Imagination and Representation in Architecture (Routledge 2007) co-edited with Marco Frascari (Carleton University, Canada) and Bradley Starkey; Rethinking Technology: A Reader in Architectural Theory, (Routledge 2007) co-edited with William W Braham (University of Pennsylvania). Funded research projects include: "Anywhere", "Future Garden" and "Moving City", a series of smart-phone guided walks and performance events - part of an ongoing collaboration with the Mixed Reality Lab of the School of Computer Science (糖心原创) and the Austrian artist-choreographer , also including the interdisciplinary 'Towards Pervasive Media' feasibility study funded by the EPSRC (拢200k), involving an 18-month collaboration (2009-2011) with colleagues in Computer Science, Geography and History, alongside a number of artists-in-residence.

Past Research

Prof Hale was co-organiser of the 3-day interdisciplinary international conferences "The Future of Museum and Gallery Design" at the University of Hong Kong in November 2015, and "Narrative Space" co-hosted by the School of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester in April 2010; and chair and co-organiser of the 2nd Annual AHRA International Conference, 2005 at the 糖心原创, in collaboration with Leverhulme Visiting Professor Marco Frascari. He was a Visiting Professor at the Azrieli School of Architecture, Carleton University, Canada (Jan-Feb 2013) and an invited speaker at international conferences at University of Toronto (March 2014) and University of Oulu, Finland (October 2014). He has chaired sessions at other international conferences including: "This Thing Called Theory, Leeds Becket University 2015; "Field/Work", University of Edinburgh 2009; "Agency", University of Sheffield 2008; "Primitive", Cardiff University 2005; "Philosophy and Architecture", Congress CATH, Bradford 2004; "The Beginning Design Student", Portland State University, Oregon USA, 2002; "Habitus 2000", Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia, 2000. He was an invited speaker at "Discourses of the Visual", an international conference at the University of Westminster, 2001, and has been an invited lecturer at the University of Bath (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011), University of Pennsylvania, University of Edinburgh and University of Sheffield, the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) Stockholm (2001 & 2009), and the University of Auckland, New Zealand (2000). In 2007 and 2013 he conducted lecture tours in China to promote the translation of Building Ideas published by China Architecture and Building Press (2015) including visits to: South East University, Nanjing; Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan; Shandong Jianzhu University in Jinan; South China University of Technology, Guangzhou; and City University Hong Kong. He has acted as an editorial referee for the journals ARQ, Journal of Architecture and Culture, Theory and Critique, and an editorial reviewer for: MIT Press, John Wiley, Architectural Press, and Routledge. He was a member of the competition jury for the "Nottingham Contemporary" 2004, won by Caruso St John, and a member of the awards panel for the RIBA President's Medals 2002, (Dissertations), the RIBA President's Awards for Research 2010-2013, and the RIBA President's Silver Medal 2019; the East Midlands Design Review Panel (CABE/REM), from 2006-2011; and has served as an External Examiner at The Bartlett, UCL; University of Sheffield; the University of East London and the University of Greenwich. He is also an occasional contributor of review articles to the journal Architecture Today. As a student, he received the RIBA President's Silver Medal award for his final year design project - a reference library in Barcelona.

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Future Research

I am currently working on a book proposal on the theory of tectonics in architecture, and an interdisciplinary project between architecture and museum studies on the theme of the '4E Museum', with Prof Suzanne MacLeod of the University of Leicester.

I also work as an occasional advisor to the global creative consultancy , based in Boston.

PhD Supervision: I have supervised approximately 30 students to successful completion of a PhD in Architecture (Social Sciences) at the 糖心原创. While I can no longer accept new PhD applications at Nottingham, I am open to invitations to act as External Advisor and/or External Examiner for PhDs at other universities.

  • XIANG, Y, LOO, Y. M. and HALE, J., 2025. The International Journal of the History of Sport. 1
  • YANG, J. and HALE, J., 2025. arq: Architectural Research Quarterly. 28(4), 350-360
  • XIANG, Y, LOO, Y M and HALE, J, 2024. Planning Perspectives. 39(2), 347-369
  • CHEN, H, HALE, J and HANKS, L, 2023. Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage. 32, e00305
  • KATHARINA BORSI, DIDEM EKICI, JONATHAN HALE and NICK HAYNES, eds., 2022. Housing and the City Routledge.
  • KAPSALIS, E., JAEGER, N. and HALE, J., 2022. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology.
  • BORSI, K., EKICI, D., HALE, J. and HAYNES, N., 2022. Housing and the City. 1-9
  • JIN, X. and HALE, J., 2022. Journal of Architecture.
  • AYDIN, Y. C., MIRZAEI, P. A. and HALE, J., 2021. Journal of Architectural Engineering. 27(3),
  • YANG, J., HALE, J. and BLACKMAN, T., 2021. arq: Architectural Research Quarterly. 25(1), 83-92
  • HALE, J., 2020. History. In: PEARMAN, H., ed., Evans Vettori: A Sense of Place 1. Matlock: Knowleston Press. 19-47
  • HALE, J., 2020. Nottingham French Studies. 53(3), 350-367
  • XINLENG, G., HALE, J. and WANG, Q., 2019. arq: Architectural Research Quarterly.
  • HALE, J., 2019. Body Schema. In: MILDENBURG, A., ed., Understanding Merleau-Ponty, Understanding Modernism New York NY: Bloomsbury Academic. 295-296
  • MACLEOD, S, AUSTIN, T, HALE, J and HO, O, eds., 2018. The Future of Museum and Gallery Design: Purpose, Process, Perception 1. Abingdon: Routledge/Taylor & Francis.
  • KOCA, SENEM KAYMAZ and HALE, JONATHAN, 2018. Temporariness and Construction: Ge莽icilik ve 陌n艧aa: Ge莽icili臒in Mekansall谋臒谋, Tekrar谋n Yeri, Mekan谋n Teni. Yap谋 Journal. 40-45
  • HALE, J. A., 2017. Merleau-Ponty For Architects Abingdon: Routledge/Taylor and Francis.
  • J脛GER, NILS, SCHN脛DELBACH, HOLGER, HALE, JONATHAN, KIRK, DAVID and GLOVER, KEVIN, 2017. Interacting with Computers. 29(1), 1-18
  • TATUM, KIRSTEN, PORTER, NICOLE and HALE, JONATHAN, 2017. Journal of Rural Studies. (In Press.)
  • HALE, J, 2017. Through the Eye of the Mirror. In: SMITH, J and LE脙O NETO, P, eds., Memorability as an Image Porto: Scopio Editions. 52-55
  • KAYMAZ KOCA, S and HALE, J, 2017. Megaron. 12(3), 12
  • DE SILVA, W, HALE, J and PORTER, N, 2016. . In: DWYER, S, FRANKS, R and GREEN, R, eds., With(Out) Trace: Interdisciplinary Investigations into Time, Space and the Body 3. ID.Net. 314
  • J脛GER, NILS, SCHN脛DELBACH, HOLGER and HALE, JONATHAN, 2016. . In: DALTON, NICHOLAS S., SCHN脛DELBACH, HOLGER, WIBERG, MIKAEL and VAROUDIS, TASOS, eds., Architecture and Interaction: Human Computer Interaction in Space and Place 1. Springer International Publishing. 183-202
  • HALE, J., 2015. Found Spaces and Material Memory: Remarks on the Thickness of Time in Architecture. In: MINDRUP, M., ed., Material Imagination: Reveries on Architecture and Matter First. Farnham: Ashgate.
  • HALE, JONATHAN, 2015. JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURE. 20(5), 923-925
  • TAHSIRI, M., HALE, J. and NIBLOCK, C., 2015.
  • HALE, J., 2014. Cognitive tectonics: from the prehuman to the posthuman. In: BEIM, A. and STYLSVIG MADSEN, U., eds., Towards an Ecology of Tectonics: The Need for Rethinking Construction in Architecture Edition Axel Menges.
  • HALE, J, 2014. Critical Phenomenology: Architecture and the Ambiguities of Embodiment. In: CONNAH, R, ed., A Carefully Folded Ham Sandwich: Towards a Critical Phenomenology 1st. Montreal: FAD Design House. 30-49
  • HALE, J., 2014. In: Proceedings ATUT 2014: Designing and Planning the Built Environment for Human Well-being. 305-314
  • HALE, J., 2013. Architecture and Ideas. n/a(n/a), 18-37
  • DING, G., HALE, J. and PARNELL, S., 2013. Architectural Research Quarterly. Volume 17(3-4), 237-252
  • HALE, J., 2012. Architecture, technology and the body: from the prehuman to the posthuman. In: CRYSLER, C.G., CAIRNS, S. and HEYNEN, H., eds., The Sage handbook of architectural theory Sage. 513-526
  • HALE, J., 2012. Narrative environments and the paradigm of embodiment. In: MACLEOD, S., HOURSTON HANKS, L. and HALE, J., eds., Museum making: narratives, architectures, exhibitions Routledge. 192-200
  • MACLEOD, S., HOURSTON HANKS, L. and HALE, J., eds., 2012. Museum Making: Narratives, Architectures, Exhibitions 1st. Routledge.
  • HALE, J., 2011. Phenomenology & Existentialism. In: OTS, E., ed., Decoding Theoryspeak: An Illustrated Guide to Architectural Theory Abingdon: Routledge. 93-94 and 167-168
  • HALE, J., 2011. Construind Idei: O Introducere in Teoria Arhitecturii (Romanian edition of Building Ideas: An Introduction to Architectural Theory, trans. Cosmin Caciuc). Bucharest: Editura Paideia.
  • KAMEL, E. and HALE, J., 2010. Conflicts of Identity: Conservation and Cultural Heritage Meaning Management. In: LIRA, S. and AMOEDA, R., eds., Constructing Intangible Heritage Barcelos: Green Lines Institute. 87-100
  • HALE, J. and SCHN脛DELBACH, H., 2009. Moving city: curating architecture on site. In: CHAPLIN S. and STARA, A., eds., Curating architecture and the city Routledge. 51-61
  • BRAHAM, W.W., HALE, J.A. and SADAR, J.S., eds., 2007. Rethinking technology: a reader in architectural theory Abingdon: Routledge.
  • FRASCARI, M, HALE, J and STARKEY, B.K., eds., 2007. From Models to Drawings: Imagination and Representation in Architecture Abingdon: Routledge. (In Press.)
  • SCHNADELBACH, H., HALE, J., DORNER, W. and BEDWELL, B., 2006. In: Technologies for Interactive Digital Storytelling and Entertainment. 346-351
  • HALE, J., 2006. Building: Swanke Hayden Connell's inventive Centre for Collaborative Construction Research at Loughborough University Architecture Today. 170, 60-65
  • HALE, J., 2006. Building: Stables Restaurant, Wakehurst Place by Walters + Cohen Architecture Today. 16-21
  • HALE, J., 2006. Architecture and the Body: Materiality, Movement and Meaning MAJA: Estonian Architectural Review. 50(4), 23-27
  • HALE, J.A., 2005. Ends middles beginnings: Edward Cullinan Architects London: Black Dog Publishing.
  • HALE, J., 2005. arq: Architectural Research Quarterly. 9(1), 45-49
  • HALE, J and STARKEY, B.K., eds., 2005. Models and Drawings - The Invisible Nature of Architecture: Abstracts from the AHRA International Conference 2005 Nottingham: School of the Built Environment.
  • HALE, J., 2004. Michael and Patty Hopkins; Dominique Perrault; Peter and Alison Smithson [3 contributions to: Encyclopedia of 20th century architecture] At: Sennott, R.S. (ed.), Encyclopedia of 20th century architecture, Vols 2 & 3. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn, pp. 649-650; 999-1000; 1220-1222
  • HALE, J., 2004. Architecture and action: materiality, movement and meaning In: Material Matters International Conference.
  • HALE,J., 2004. Primitive: edited out of contemporary discourse (Report on the conference Primitive at Welsh School of Architecture, September 2004) arq: Architectural Research Quarterly. 8(1), 9-12
  • HALE, J., 2004. Architecture in the age of divided representation: the question of creativity in the shadow of production, by Dalibor Vesely Architects' Journal. 44
  • HALE, J., 2004. Building: artful craftsmanship, house in Rutland by Robert Barnes Architects Architecture Today. 18-25
  • HALE, J., 2004. Gottfried Semper's primitive hut as an act of self-creation In: Primitive Abstracts.
  • HALE, J., 2003. Architectural exhibitions: materiality, movement and meaning In: Proceedings, Spring Research Conference 2003.
  • HALE, J., 2003. Building: Bowling Pavilion, Leicester by Patel Taylor Architects Architecture Today.
  • HALE, J., 2002. "An architectural exhibition: bench with the film of its own making" in The Predicament of Beginning In: 18th National Conference on the Beginning Design Student. 96-98
  • HALE, J., 2002. Review of: The unknown city: contesting architecture and social space, edited by Borden et al.
  • HALE, J., 2002. Building: housing, Bristol by Feilden Clegg Bradley Architects Architecture Today. 46-54
  • HALE, J., 2001. Cognitive mapping: New York vs Philadelphia. In: LEACH, N., ed., Hieroglyphics of space: reading and experiencing the modern metropolis London: Routledge. 31-42
  • HALE, J., 2001. Journal of Architecture. 6, 307-309
  • HALE, J., 2001. Building study: house, West London RIBA Journal. 108(2), 48-54
  • HALE, J., 2001. Towards a critical hermeneutics in architecture In: Discourses of the Visual, International Conference.
  • HALE, J., 2000. Building ideas: an introduction to architectural theory Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
  • HALE, J., 2000. Building: Knox Bhavan in Kent Architecture Today. 18-27
  • HALE, J.A., 2000. Journal of Architecture. 5(1), 91-97
  • HALE, J., 2000. Portraits of the body: architecture and action In: Habitus 2000 International Conference.
  • HALE, J., 1999. Renaissance manipulation, review of Architectonics of humanism by Lionel March Building Design. 1385(March), 12
  • HALE, J.A., 1997. Cognitive mapping: rule or model? Renaissance and Modern Studies. 40, 83-96
  • HALE, J., 1997. Signs of resistance: re-membering technology In: ACSA International Conference. 278-281
  • HALE, J., 1997. Mapping New York: between the network and the body European Journal of American Culture. 17(1), 45-52
  • HALE, J., 1997. Cheltenham blooms - student accommodation at Cheltenham and Gloucester College by Edward Cullinan Architects Architectural Review. 1204(CC1), 54-57

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